Live your best life. Be your best you.

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Take care of yourself”

Our Bible verse for today: “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving God not men.” Ephesians 6:7 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Live your best life. Be your best you”

I remember when I was a young sailor newly reported aboard my first ship. I was initially assigned to work in the bake shop as one of the assistants to the baker on the midnight shift. He was a good guy who worked to produce good bread and sweet treats for the crew. Unfortunately, as many business owners and bosses will tell you, it can be tough to get good help. Our baker had difficulty getting dependable assistants who cared enough to consistently do a good job. The saying among many of us was, “It’s close enough for government work.” In other words, half-hearted efforts and mediocre results was all the effort the job was worth. I tried to do better than that, and I hope I did.

Personally, I think mediocrity is a sin – not to mention a terrible waste. As Christians, the New Testament calls us to work hard and to give all of life our best effort. Ephesians 6:7 (above) is just one of those verses. Paul says we are to make a good effort, with our whole heart put into it, as if we were doing this thing (whatever it is) for God and not for people. We commonly apply that verse to the workplace, making the argument that Christians should be the best employees in the place, and it certainly does apply in that sense. But the principle also applies to all of life. Paul makes this even clearer in Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord.” “Whatever” you do. That applies to everything – all of life. Give it your best.

Too many Christians are content to just shuffle through life making half-hearted efforts and getting mediocre results. I think that’s a waste of precious time on earth. It’s a waste of skills, talents, abilities, and resources. Mediocrity cheats God out of what is rightfully His – our best effort.

How does this apply to taking good care of ourselves? When it comes to the way we approach life and the steps we take to strive for good health physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, we must make every effort to do our best. That includes a good effort at having a healthy diet and getting enough exercise; it includes doing the things we have talked about this month to maintain good mental and emotional health; and it especially includes good spiritual practices.

Don’t waste your precious time on earth by being content with mediocrity in any area of life. Don’t settle for anything less than your best. Live your best life. Be your best you.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Share this:

Related

Leave a comment Cancel reply